TheBMW Art Car Project was introduced by the French racecar driver and auctioneerHervé Poulain, who wanted to invite an artist to create a canvas on an automobile.
In 1975, Poulain commissioned American artist and friend Alexander Calder to paint the firstBMW Art Car. This first example would be a BMW 3.0 CSL which Poulain himself would race in the1975 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race.[1]
Since Calder's work of art, many other renowned artists throughout the world have created BMW Art Cars, includingDavid Hockney,Jenny Holzer,Roy Lichtenstein,Robert Rauschenberg,Frank Stella, andAndy Warhol. To date, a total of 20 BMW Art Cars, based on both racing and regular production vehicles, have been created. Frank Stella also made oneunofficial art car at the behest of race car driverPeter Gregg. The most recent artist to the join BMW Art Car program is Julie Mehretu in 2024 with her BMW M Hybrid V8. Artists for the BMW Art Car Project are chosen by a panel of international judges.
According toThomas Girst, who has been in charge of the BMW Art Cars project since 2004, the purpose of the project has changed over time: "In the beginning the cars were raced. There wasn't much of a public relations effort around them... Since then, some of the Art Cars have been used in advertisements to show that BMW is a player in the arts. With the Eliason work, part of what we are doing is raising awareness of alternative and renewable energy sources."[2]
For the 50th birthday of the BMW Art Car Project in 2025, a world tour has been scheduled that will take the art cars to various museums and events around the world.
| No. | Photo | Artist | Model | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Alexander Calder | 3.0 CSL | 1975 |
| 2 |  | Frank Stella | 3.0 CSL | 1976 |
| 3 |  | Roy Lichtenstein | 320 | 1977 |
| 4 |  | Andy Warhol | M1 Group 4 | 1979 |
| 5 | Ernst Fuchs | 635 CSi | 1982 | |
| 6 |  | Robert Rauschenberg | 635 CSi | 1986 |
| 7 |  | Michael Nelson Jagamarra | M3 | 1989 |
| 8 |  | Ken Done | M3 Group A | 1989 |
| 9 |  | Matazo Kayama | 535i | 1990 |
| 10 |  | César Manrique | 730i | 1990 |
| 11 |  | A. R. Penck | Z1 | 1991 |
| 12 |  | Esther Mahlangu | 525i | 1991 |
| 13 |  | Sandro Chia | M3 DTM Prototype | 1992 |
| 14 | .jpg) | David Hockney | 850CSi | 1995 |
| 15 |  | Jenny Holzer[3] | V12 LMR | 1999 |
| 16 | Olafur Eliasson[4] | H2R | 2007 | |
| 17 |  | Jeff Koons[5][6] | M3 GT2 | 2010 |
| 18 |  | John Baldessari[7] | M6 GTLM | 2016 |
| 19 |  | Cao Fei[8] | M6 GT3** | 2017 |
| 20 | .jpg) | Julie Mehretu | M Hybrid V8 | 2024 |
** Car shown in the BMW Museum, without the original digital lighting enhancements that were part of the art.
Since 2003, BMW has released the Art Cars (at the time, this encompassed the entire series) as1:18 scale miniature diecast.
They are sold in limited edition by BMW dealers and shops with the name "museum edition". All of them have an elegant acrylic display and a grey base, iconic package with red box and an "art car" booklet inside. The first two to be released wereAlexander Calder'sBMW 3.0 CSL andJenny Holzer'sBMW V12 LMR. Initially 3000 copies each were to be produced with an MSRP of $125 (now $145) each.[9]Nowadays there are 18 miniatures, but there are 20 Bmw art cars, simply of 2 there are no miniatures. Only the works of Olafur Eliasson and Cao Fei do not have official miniatures because they are conceptual works.[10]
In 2009, the Art Cars began a North American tour, starting at theLos Angeles County Museum of Art from February 12–24. The second stop was in New York City from March 24 to April 6, in aspecial exhibit at Grand Central Terminal held in itsVanderbilt Hall.[11] The Cars were exhibited in México, first inMARCO, Monterrey, and later inGuadalajara andMexico City.[12] In July 2012 a selection of the cars were presented by theInstitute of Contemporary Arts in aShoreditch car park as part of theLondon 2012 Festival, entitledArt Drive!.[13]
In addition to the work commissioned by BMW, other artists have created unofficial BMW art cars. In 1979 racing driverPeter Gregg purchased aBMW M1 Procar and commissioned his friendFrank Stella to paint it for him; this car is the only BMW painted by an artist who was also part of BMW's own Art Car program.[14] and was sold from the Guggenheim Museum to a BMW dealer in Long Island, New York in 2011.[15] The car is part of Stella's "Polar Coordinates" series, created to commemorate Stella's friendRonnie Peterson who had died in a racing incident at Monza in 1978.[14][16] In 1987Keith Haring painted a redBMW Z1 at Hans Mayer Gallery,Düsseldorf.[17] In 1996 Artist Dennis Simon was commissioned to create a BMW Motorsport tribute on the flanks of a 1965 BMW 1800 Ti/SA for BMW's 80th birthday at the Monterey Historics in Laguna Seca, CA. In 2007, Portland'sMuseum of Contemporary Craft commissioned artistTom Cramer to paint a 1977 BMW 320i for their grand opening at the DeSoto Building.[18][19] In 2016, the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville commissioned artist Christie Chandler to paint aBMW X6 for their annual awards gala atTPC Sawgrass.[20][21]
| Current brands |
|
|---|---|
| Previous brands | |
| Divisions and subsidiaries | |
| Joint ventures | |
| Vehicles | |
| Technologies | |
| Motorsport | |
| Buildings | |
| Other | |
48°10′35″N11°33′33″E / 48.1765°N 11.5591°E /48.1765; 11.5591
